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VANCOUVER — While the estimated jobs created by the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion range from 15,000 to 800,000, industry leaders in British Columbia and Alberta stake opposing views on the economic impacts of the project.

In B.C., Mike Rowlands, president of consulting firm Junxion, questions the $4.5 billion purchase of the pipeline by the federal government, which said it was doing so to “create and protect jobs” in B.C. and Alberta.

Rowlands, who spearheaded a petition containing signatures from over 700 businesses and entrepreneurs opposing the pipeline expansion project, said many in the business community would rather see government invest in “high-growth” sectors such as green energy, technology and media production. “Not doubling down on industries that are clearly in sunset.”

The number of estimated jobs the expansion project will create in Alberta and B.C. varies between Kinder Morgan and the federal government.

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According to Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain website, out of the total number of 800,000 direct, indirect and “induced person-years” of employment over 20 years of the pipeline operation estimated by the Conference Board of Canada, most will be in Alberta.

A total of 441,000 jobs would be generated and, out of those, 14,600 would be construction jobs, 13,340 are in pipeline operations, and 11,200 jobs will be generated by “dividend payments from oil producers.” Meanwhile, the company calculates another 400,600 jobs would be created “related to additional investments.

On the same website, the company also stated that B.C. would get an estimated 189,000 “person-years” including 36,000 during project development and 39,000 during operations. However, back in November 2016 when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the approval of the pipeline expansion project, he said it would create 15,000 “middle-class jobs” mostly in the trades.

Todd Banks, executive director of the Chamber of Commerce in Sherwood Park — the central Alberta suburb where the Trans Mountain pipeline begins — said he was distressed it took the federal government stepping in to buy the pipeline to get the approved project built, but they’re “very appreciative” of the result.

Banks said every job created directly related to oil, whether through an upgrader or refinery, means approximately six more spinoff jobs created in the surrounding area.

“That could be a grocery store clerk, it could be extra staff at a hotel, there are many different ways jobs are increased as volume of sale increased at any retail outlet or service provider,” Banks said.

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Those spinoff jobs will be vital to the economic recovery of Alberta, Banks said.

Another pipeline supporter is Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour, who said the decision is a “win-win” for Canadians who now have “a piece of the energy pie for themselves.”

On the issue of the pipeline and its economic impact, the BC Federation of Labour has decided to remain quiet on the purchase, saying it doesn’t have “a formal position” because its member organizations have vastly opposing views.

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McGowan explained that public opinion in B.C. and Alberta are very different and understands why his colleagues in the B.C. labour movement are “treading more carefully.”

“There are a few dissenting voices here in Alberta,” McGowan said. “But the vast majority of Albertans both within the labour movement and outside of it are fully supportive of the pipeline in general and we’re even more supportive of the decision to buy the pipeline outright.”

He added the thousands of jobs, not the 800,000 “exaggeration” by Kinder Morgan, are “enough to justify support for the project.”

Kinder Morgan initially told the National Energy Board in 2013 the expansion would create 2,500 temporary construction jobs over two years with 90 permanent jobs. Even that number is high, Allan said, with several jobs already held by people who work on the existing pipeline.

“They’re very extensively exaggerated,” Allan said.

Werner Antweiler, economist and associate professor at UBC’s Sauder School of Business, called the government’s job creation numbers “minor.”

“They won’t make or break the B.C. economy,” he said.

“Construction jobs are limited in time and scope, and pipelines don’t bring long-term employment. Once the pipeline is built, the maintenance and operation actually require very few people, so you get this small kick during the construction phase in terms of employment that will, of course, not turn into long-term jobs and high-quality jobs that are essential for the economy.”

Rowlands argued the pipeline could even put existing jobs at risk.

“Businesses are going to be damaged when a major pipeline burst happens, or a ship begins to leak. We’re not talking about run-of-mill petroleum products here, we’re talking about bitumen. The stuff that is proven to be highly toxic to humans, and we don’t have a clear understanding of how to clean up.”

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